Team India batter Karun Nair has made a startling revelation that a prominent Indian cricketer once advised him to retire from international cricket and focus on earning money through T20 leagues.
"I still remember a prominent Indian cricketer calling me and saying I should retire because the money in these leagues would make me secure," Nair told Mail Sport.
"It would have been easy to do, but I knew that regardless of the money, I would be kicking myself for giving up that easily.
"I was never going to give up on playing for India again. That was just over two years ago, and look where we are now. It’s crazy, but deep down, I knew I was good enough," he added.
Eight years after his last Test appearance, Karun Nair is now on the brink of a remarkable comeback. Come Friday, there is a strong possibility that he will be part of India’s playing XI for the first Test against England, beginning June 20 in Leeds.
Nair bolstered his case for a return by scoring a double-century for India A against the England Lions in the first unofficial Test last week in Canterbury.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A comeback story with Karun Nair ��<br/><br/>P.S. - A special message from KL Rahul ��<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamIndia?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TeamIndia</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ENGvIND?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ENGvIND</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/karun126?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@karun126</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/klrahul?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@klrahul</a> <a href="https://t.co/PeYCsNtnxv">pic.twitter.com/PeYCsNtnxv</a></p>— BCCI (@BCCI) <a href="https://twitter.com/BCCI/status/1933059519074218203?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
His comeback is the result of consistent performances in domestic cricket and a strong county stint. Last Wednesday marked his official return to the Indian dressing room, with coach Gautam Gambhir praising his resilience.
"No matter how many runs you have scored – what matters most is that never-say-die attitude, that never-give-up mindset. That's what has brought you back into the team. It's something that inspires the whole world," Gambhir said in a video posted on BCCI.tv.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dear cricket, give me one more chance.����</p>— Karun Nair (@karun126) <a href="https://twitter.com/karun126/status/1601578615619350531?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2022</a></blockquote>
Across ten County Championship matches over two seasons for Northamptonshire, Nair amassed 736 runs at an average of 56.61, including a double century against Glamorgan.
He also scored 863 runs at 53.93 in a title-winning Ranji Trophy season for Vidarbha in 2024–25. Before that, he had a prolific 50-over campaign, hitting five centuries in eight innings at an astonishing average of 389.50 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
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